2-0 down inside the last fifteen minutes against the reigning Hyundai A-League champions, and having missed a first half penalty as well, you would have got fairly long odds on league debutants Wellington Phoenix pulling off a 2-2 draw, and going within inches of clinching a dramatic victory over Melbourne Victory. But pull it off they did at Westpac Stadium on August 26, in front of the biggest crowd to attend a club football fixture in New Zealand. And the 14,421 patrons rose as one at the sound of referee Mark Shields' final whistle to acclaim New Zealand's new professional footballing flagship. They were less confident at the end of a first half in which Melbourne were the better side. Both teams started nervously - understandably, given the usual first day of the season jitters - with only a rising shot on the run from Daniel Allsopp punctuating the first ten minutes of caution. Allsopp was quick to settle into his stride, and carried his Melbourne team-mates along with him early on. In the eleventh minute, he picked out Carlos Hernandez with a cross, and the Costa Rican's spectacular volleyed effort was blocked to safety by Steven Old. On the quarter-hour, Archie Thompson and Hernandez linked with Allsopp, whose first touch failed him on this occasion, prompting him to fire wildly over the crossbar. But inside three minutes, Allsopp was creating problems again, and his cross was handled by Wellington's Brazilian defender, Cleberson. Referee Shields had no hesitation - penalty, and Kevin Muscat duly despatched it to give the visitors a deserved nineteenth minute lead. This stirred Wellington into life, and they launched their first raid of note in the 22nd minute. Michael Ferrante switched play to Old, who cut inside and linked with Smeltz. Ferrante had continued his run, and Smeltz's pass invited him to let fly. The ball blazed over the crossbar. Old can be more than a tad suspect defensively at times, and just a minute later, he gifted possession to Allsopp - of all people - with a wayward pass. The striker was unable to take advantage of the gift, but came with inches of converting a slide-rule pass from Hernandez seconds later. He slipped his shot past the advancing figure of Glen Moss but inches past the post. On the half-hour, Cleberson picked out Daniel on the right, with the playmaker displaying a delightful piece of skill to completely outwit Joseph Keenan, prior to lashing a first-time drive across the face of goal. Melbourne's claims for a second penalty were waved away soon afterwards by referee Shields, Moss having clipped Thompson as the striker dashed into the penalty area. But the official was pointing to the penalty spot five minutes before half-time, much to the visitors' chagrin. Daniel whipped in a corner which Allsopp needlessly handled - a stonewall penalty if ever there was one! Up stepped the corner-taker, who aimed high - too high, as it turned out, the ball striking the underside of the crossbar and bouncing down and back into the field of play. Daniel headed the rebound over the crossbar - had he headed home, the goal would have been ruled out anyway, as no other player had touched the ball from the second he took the spot-kick. Talking of goals ruled out, the offside flag thwarted Allsopp just before half-time, while from Tony Lochhead's resulting free-kick, Smeltz held play up well before playing the ball inside to Ferrante, who stepped over the ball, knowing full well that Wellington captain Ross Aloisi was running through behind him. Sadly for the home team, his shot lacked accuracy. Both teams began the second spell in lively fashion, with Melborne's Grant Brebner starting and finishing a move which also featured Hernandez and Allsopp. The midfielder's drive flew wide just two minutes after the resumption. Five minutes later, Leigh Broxham picked out Allsopp with a lofted pass. Dodd stepped into deny him, which prompted his central defensive partner, Cleberson, to step in and hoist the ball forward. Vaughan Coveny challenged Michael Theoklitos in the air, with both players missing the object of their affections, the ball. Roddy Vargas, lurking behind them lest something untoward occur from a Melbourne viewpoint, was on hand to clear off the line. Melbourne's defence was dealing capably with everything Wellington was throwing at it, and after Aloisi had lashed a thirty-yarder barely a yard past Theoklitos' left-hand post, the visitors took the wind from the sails of the Wellington faithful in the

best manner possible. Keenan this time joined the attack, bursting onto the ball before playing a slick one-two with Thompson. As he began to stumble, Keenan prodded the ball into Aloisi's path … cue an unerring finish beyond Moss, and a 2-0 scoreline. Wellington struggled to get going again following this setback, and Melbourne weren't exactly interested in chasing a third goal when victory already looked to be in the bag. Consequently the game appeared to be petering out, until Wellington coach Ricki Herbert decided to unleash a couple of substitutes onto unsuspecting opponents. The introduction of Felice Campos and Royce Brownlie had the desired effect, and with the crowd urging on the locals, Wellington soon found themselves riding the crest of a wave as momentum built towards a climactic finish. Twelve minutes from time, the substitutes combined, Brownlie heading a Cleberson ball down towards Campos. Daniel Piorkowski was forced into conceding a corner, but worse was to come for the reigning champions. Ferrante whipped in the set-piece to the near post, where Campos rose to flick it on. The unmarked figure of Daniel was lurking beyond him, and the roar when his ten-yard header hit the net was heard right around New Zealand's capital city. Wellington wasted little time in pouring forward in search of an equaliser. Five minutes after the first goal, Cleberson's ball forward sought out Daniel. Theoklitos came racing out of goal to claim it, despite the fact Piorkowski was on the scene. The defender never expected his goalkeeper to endure such a rush of blood to the head, and was forced to hastily clear the threat for a throw-in upon realising what had happened. Melbourne were rattled, and within seconds, they were in real trouble, for the roar which greeted Wellington's 84th minute equaliser reverberated throughout the Hutt Valley. Campos threw the ball in to Lochhead, who fired a deep, angled cross beyond the far post. Rising above Matthew Kemp was Smeltz, who sent a towering header arcing over Theoklitos and into the net - 2-2, and a grandstand finish on the cards. Allsopp hinted that Melbourne weren't out of it when sending a twenty-five yarder fizzing over the crossbar following some neat build-up play. Wellington's response, seconds later, saw Campos skip past three opponents inside the penalty area, only for Kemp to scramble his low cross to safety. It was all Wellington now, and in the second minute of stoppage time, Daniel and Campos played a neat one-two before the former picked out Smeltz. He superbly turned his marker and set sail for goal before unselfishly playing the ball into Brownlie's path on the far side of the penalty area. The substitute took the ball in his stride and let fly past the diving figure of Theoklitos, who looked on as the sphere struck the base of the far post and bounced out. Daniel got to the rebound and fired in a cross for Brownlie, but the goalkeeper had recovered. Seconds later, Wellington charged again, forcing another corner. This time, Ferrante played a short one with Campos, before whipping a cross right into the heart of Melbourne's goalmouth. Smeltz sprung salmon-like from the ground and met the ball flush on the forehead, only to graze the crossbar with his six-yard effort. Referee Shields, who booked nine players in this far from ill-tempered contest, looked at his watch within seconds, and soon blew the final whistle to conclude a stirring fightback by the league debutants, who came desperately close to claiming the scalp of the reigning champions. More significantly, with this one result Wellington Phoenix restored some much-needed credibility to New Zealand's involvement in the Hyundai A-League, an issue which many had brought into question following the efforts of both the Football Kingz and the NZ Knights, Wellington's Kiwi-based predecessors in top-flight Australian football. On this showing, they'll do a great deal better than many have dared to predict. Wellington:     Moss; Old (booked, 8), Cleberson (booked, 18), Dodd (booked, 75), Lochhead; Ferrante, Christie (Campos, 64), Aloisi (booked, 70), Daniel; Smeltz, Coveny (Brownlie, 76) Melbourne:     Theoklitos; Piorkowski, Milicevic (booked, 25) (Kemp, 77), Vargas, Keenan (booked, 89); Brebner (booked, 20), Muscat (booked, 77), Broxham; Thompson (Caceres, 78), Allsopp (booked, 79), Hernandez (Patafta, 58) Referee:     Mark Shields